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EERE Blog

Before you hit the road to visit relatives or friends this holiday season, you’ll probably stop at the gas station to fuel up. The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office invests in research and development to help commercialize biofuels—liquid fuels produced from plant sources—to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, build the economy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While you’re at the gas pump, pay attention to a few things. There are several biofuel options already available to you today, and the Energy Department is working to bring other second-generation biofuel options to a pump near you.

Our National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), together with the Energy Department’s Wind Program and AWS Truepower, has released new maps that illustrate vast potential for wind energy in the United States.

Fuel cell electric vehicles are now widely available in the United States. These passenger vehicles have the driving range, ease of refueling, and performance of today’s gasoline-powered cars while emitting nothing but water.

Today, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) released the first four videos in a series highlighting each of the seven essential principles presented in the DOE Energy Literacy Framework. EERE also released the Spanish-language version of the Get Current coloring book, which is part of an ongoing effort to expand educational resources for the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States.

This week, Clean Cities welcomed another major partner in the effort to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum – the brand-new Tampa Bay Clean Cities Coalition. Through its network of nearly 100 coalitions across the country, the Energy Department’s Clean Cities program brings together stakeholders to increase the use of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, reduce idling, and improve fuel economy.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is at the center of creating the clean energy economy today, developing and delivering market-driven solutions for energy-saving homes, buildings, and manufacturing; sustainable transportation; and renewable electricity generation. Such a large and critical goal requires EERE to leverage a number of management techniques and tools to ensure taxpayer-funded investments are directed to achieve the intended high value impact. One such tool is to perform “retrospective impact analysis,” effectively looking backwards over time and assessing how EERE has accelerated development and commercialization of technologies and produced a return on public investment that contributes to the nation’s economic growth.

A resource in central Alaska is showing promise for geothermal development—the renewable energy that draws on Earth’s natural heat for electricity and other uses. The myriad benefits of this clean, domestic power source make geothermal exploration an attractive proposition for this state, where off-grid demand means that Alaskans often use expensive, polluting diesel power.

To boost their programs and share their best practices with others, leading employers from across the country partner with the U.S. Department of Energy through the EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge. The Challenge aims to achieve a dramatic increase in the number of employers offering workplace charging by 2018. As the Challenge approaches its second anniversary, Challenge partners and ambassadors convened at a Summit in Alexandria, Virginia, to celebrate progress and share new resources for expanding their workplace charging programs.